Seven Minutes
by Firelily10
Summary: Draco takes young Scorpius to visit the mother he never knew. Draco/Hermione; Dramione; one-shot; short story


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, locations, and/or events that might be mentioned in this story. No copyright intended. **

**Short story; please review!**

Seven minutes. Not a very long amount of time, yet somehow seven minutes had made up the dearest memory in Scorpius Malfoy's young life. Scorpius never went through a day without thinking about those seven minutes at least once. Even when his years became numerous as he became an elderly man he still remembered every second of every minute very clearly.

"Dad, where are we going?" a curious little voice asked. The voice belonged to a young Scorpius Malfoy. He stared at his father who was fishing something out of his pocket.

"We're going to visit your mother" Draco replied. The younger Malfoy smiled. He liked visiting his mother. Whenever given the chance, his father would walk with him to the graveyard to see his mother. Most of Scorpius's friends thought him to be very strange. They'd told him on several occasions that he was only talking to a lifeless stone stuck in the ground, that his mother couldn't hear him. But Scorpius was convinced that every time he put a rose on that tombstone, every time he sat next to it and talked about his problems that his mother was listening intently. He didn't need to see her face to know that she was there with him. Father had told him long ago that Mother would always be there despite what others told him.

"Are we walking to the graveyard?" Scorpius asked, staring worriedly out the window. Outside it was pouring rain, the cold seeping into his very bones.

"I didn't say we were going to the graveyard" Draco said simply. Scorpius frowned, confused. "Ah, there it is" Draco said triumphantly, pulling a strange looking device out of his coat pocket. It seemed to be a little golden hourglass hanging on a golden chain. Draco motioned to his son to come over. Scorpius obeyed.

Draco kneeled down by his son and put the chain around both of their necks. Draco turned the little knob on the hourglass seven times. Scorpius closed his eyes. Suddenly, everything around him felt funny. He opened one eye and everything looked blurry. What was happening? He clung tightly to his father's arm. "No need to be afraid Scorpius" Draco said, patting his son's back. All of a sudden, the funny feeling stopped and everything came back into focus.

Scorpius realized that they weren't at home anymore. They were in the middle of a long corridor with stone walls, almost like they were in a castle of some sort. There was a girl standing at the end of the corridor holding many books in her hands. She had big brown eyes and brown hair that fell in delicate curls onto her shoulders. Scorpius's eyes lit up immediately. "Mum!" he cried and raced down the hall to greet his mother. He'd only seen her in pictures, and now here he was holding on to her legs tightly with tears in his eyes. The girl dropped her books in surprise and stared down at the little boy, looking confused. Then she looked up and saw the boy's father, standing there, looking at her, and she understood. Her eyes softened. "Draco?"

"Hello Granger" Draco said gently.

"How many times must I ask you to call me Hermione?" she asked with a laugh. Draco smirked and walked towards her.

"Just this once more Granger" he said. He leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were full of life and for the first time in seven years, Draco felt complete. He looked at his family. Finally, even if it could be only for a short time, they were together. For a few minutes, they stood in silence. Perhaps what hurt Draco and Scorpius the most was knowing that in a few minutes she would be gone again.

"Are you coming back with us?" Scorpius asked. Hermione looked heartbroken.

"I can't" she whispered. Scorpius felt his little heart stop. This was unfair. Why couldn't his mother come back with them? She was right there. He didn't want to go back home without her.

"Why not?" he asked.

"There are rules with time travel. One day you'll understand. I wish I could go with you, but don't worry love. I'll be with you."

"Always?"

"Always. Both now and forever. That's a promise." Scorpius smiled. Hermione stroked his head gently and looked up at Draco. She didn't know that in a few years time she would meet baby Scorpius. She also didn't know that she would die three days after meeting her little boy. But she knew one thing as she watched Draco and Scorpius start to fade away; she had a future with Draco, and she knew one day she'd get to see that little boy again. And she'd do anything to keep that future alive.

Draco looked at her one more time and whispered in her ear, "Always."

When they were gone, Hermione sighed. She was reminded that all things faded away, but she knew one thing. Even after the most beautiful of things faded away, they still left traces, and those traces would remain.

"Granger" a voice called from behind her. She turned and saw the current Draco, looking much younger, coming towards her. "Where've you been? I thought we were going to Hogsmeade together?" She smiled at him, and couldn't stop thinking of the little boy she'd just met.

"Oh, I was just seeing a little friend of mine" she replied.

"Do I know him?" Draco replied quickly, tensing up. She smiled.

"You will." The two started to walk off together when Draco stopped her.

"Wait, I need a picture" he said quickly, pulling out a camera.

"Why?"

"You look so beautiful today" he replied, kissing her. He set the camera on a window ledge and set it to seven seconds. He ran next to Hermione and they smiled. The camera flashed. "There, now I'll have you forever" he said with a laugh.

Scorpius found himself back inside Malfoy Manor, alongside his father. "Will we ever go see her again?" he asked his father. Draco nodded.

"Yes, I promise." Draco hugged his little boy. His eyes caught a picture hanging on the wall next to him. It had a young man and young woman together smiling and waving, with a little baby in the woman's arms. That picture had been taken three days before her death. Draco felt tears come to his eyes and swore he heard someone whisper 'always' to him.

Scorpius pulled away from his father and ran upstairs to his room. He picked up a picture that had been sitting on his bedside table. It was a picture of his mother and father when they'd been in school together. Strange, they seemed to be standing in the very corridor that he and his father had just visited her in. He shrugged. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Seven minutes. Only seven. It wasn't an awful lot of minutes, but it still meant the most to Scorpius. It was his favorite memory, as well as his father's. He'd never forget it. In fact, he'd keep the memory with him for the rest of his days. He'd always have it with him. Always.


End file.
